Ronaldo's sister fails to see funny side of Virgil's jibe

MILAN－Cristiano Ronaldo's sister failed to see the funny side after Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk joked that the Portuguese forward was "not really a rival" in the Ballon D'Or award voting.

Dutchman van Dijk finished second behind Lionel Messi in Monday's ceremony in Paris, with Ronaldo third.

Juventus forward Ronaldo was absent from the presentation for the prize he has won five times, preferring to go to Milan where he was voted Serie A's Player of the Year.

Asked by a Dutch reporter about Ronaldo's absence, van Dijk replied: "Why, was he a candidate?", provoking an Instagram tirade from Ronaldo's sister, Katia Aveiro.

"Dear Virgil, from where you are now, Ronaldo has come and gone one thousand times," she said.

"Cristiano was three-times league champion in that country where you have played for years and still haven't put your hands on 'the tin'," she said, referring to her brother's Premier League titles with Manchester United.

After listing more Ronaldo achievements with Real Madrid, she said: "Now, Virgil, go and win some of those titles that really matter and we will talk again. When you have a hand full of them, maybe you can sit at the same table as Cristiano."

Ronaldo netted 21 Serie A goals last season to help Juve win an eighth successive Italian top-flight title.

'Pretty close'

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes van Dijk would have been a worthy winner of the Ballon d'Or but understands why Messi lifted it for a sixth time.

"I see it slightly different and a lot of people see it slightly different but that's absolutely no problem," said Klopp. "Lionel Messi, I've said probably 500,000 times in my life already, is probably the best player I saw in my lifetime.

"But I cannot remember a more impressive season from a defender ever. Honestly. So it would have been right if Virg won it. I heard it was pretty close."

Klopp's men are likely to be in contention for awards again next year should they finally end a 30-year wait to win an English topflight league title. Before Wednesday night's visit of Everton, Liverpool led the Premier League standings by eight points.

Messi playing at 37?

Meanwhile, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni on Tuesday said that he hopes the 2020 Copa America won't be Messi's last appearance at the tournament.

The Barcelona forward will turn 33 during the Copa's 47th edition next year but Scaloni suggested that Argentina's record scorer could still be around in 2024.

"I don't know if it will be his last Copa America, hopefully not," the Albiceleste boss told reporters after the group stage draw ceremony in Cartagena, Colombia.

Messi is still aiming for his first major trophy with Argentina, having been a part of Albiceleste teams that finished as runners-up at the 2014 World Cup and the 2015 and 2016 Copa America tournaments.

"Argentina－not just Lionel Messi－needs the title," Scaloni said.

After receiving his sixth Ballon d'Or award on Monday, Messi admitted that retirement was "getting closer", though he also said that he intends to keep playing for "many more years".